In season: beets

Saturday, April 16. Cotton Mill Farmers Market, Carrollton. 8 a.m. - noon. http://www.cottonmillfarmersmarket.org/

Saturday, April 16. Roswell Farmers and Artisans Market, Roswell. 8 a.m. - noon. http://roswellfam.com/

Saturday, April 16. Sandy Springs Farmers Market, Sandy Springs. 8:30 a.m. – noon. http://sandyspringsfarmersmarket.com/

Saturday, April 16. Alpharetta Farmers Market, Alpharetta. 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. http://alpharettafarmersmarket.com/

Cooking demos:

4:30 – 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14. Chef Carolynn Ladd of A Date with Figs demonstrates dishes using market produce. East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, Atlanta. http://www.farmeav.com/

9 a.m. Saturday, April 16. Chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com

10 a.m. Saturday, April 16. Chef Thomas McKeown of Hyatt Regency. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

10 – 11 a.m. Saturday, April 16. Celia Tully of Strippagio. Brookhaven Farmers Market, Brookhaven. http://www.brookhavenfarmersmarket.com/

FOR SALE

Just appearing at local markets: asparagus, fennel, ramps, strawberries, sugar snap peas, upland cress

Vegetables and nuts: artichokes, arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccolini, carrots, celery, chard, collards, cornmeal, endive, escarole, frisee, green garlic, green onions, grits, herbs, hydroponic beans and cucumbers, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, parsnips, pecans, polenta, popcorn, radicchio, radishes, sorrel, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips and greens

— From local reports

Barbara Mathis of Fox Hollow Farm calls her farm a “one-woman operation.” Now 70, when she retired as office manager of I.B.E.W. LocalUnion84, she bought 10 acres in Rockmart and planted about a half-acre as a market garden. She also takes care of about 200 chickens. On a recent Thursday evening she brought 102 dozen eggs to the Sweet Apple Farmers Market where she sells whatever she’s harvested that week.

In the ground now are broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage and “as soon as the ground gets dry, I’ll put in my summer crops,” Mathis said.

One crop she has struggled with is beets.

“Honestly, I am not much of a beet grower, that was my mother. She grew absolutely beautiful beets and made the best pickles! I am making an attempt to grow them again this year,” Mathis said. “My problem is the deer, they absolutely love the greens. Once the greens are gone pretty much ends the crop.”

Mathis grew up in Alpharetta where her mother kept a large garden that fed the family. “If she planted something, it grew. She was that kind of person. She’d break off a limb and it would turn into a rose bush, or whatever. It was a typical Southern garden where she grew such things as corn, green beans, radishes, strawberries and squash.”

And those pickles? “She boiled the beets in a wash pot outdoors. As a child that fascinated me, watching the water turn blood red.” But the pickle recipe? It’s now lost to time. Mathis says it just looked like too much trouble and she never learned the recipe, although she loved eating them.

Mathis tried her hand at beets again this year, growing Detroit Red. But the deer have been relentless in their pursuit of beet greens.

“I try to keep the beets sprayed with an egg wash that the deer do not like, but the rain will wash it away quickly,” Mathis said. “It is almost like the deer are standing in the garden when it starts to rain waiting for it to be washed away! I have a lot of success with the egg wash on everything else but not the beets.”

Mathis doesn’t remember where she first heard about the egg wash, but it generally does a good job as a deer deterrent. She whips up four or five eggs in a blender and adds that mixture to a gallon of water. Then sprays with it. “After a couple of days, the eggs really stink. But when the rain washes it off, you have to do it all over again.”

And once the deer eat the greens, which they do all the way to the ground, the beet roots grow no more.

When she gets a few beets, she enjoys eating them roasted. “I didn’t even know until a few years ago that you could eat the greens. My mother just cut them off and fed them to the pigs.”

Linda Gable’s Chocolate Roots Cake

Linda Gable, mother of Laurie Moore of Moore Farms and Friends, created this recipe as a way to make a delicious treat a little more healthy. She roasts a variety of vegetables — beets, rutabagas, sweet potatoes and turnips for example — and then peels and purees them. She says she always begins with a red beet and then adds whatever she has on hand. “If you have more puree than you need, it can be frozen for future use. Have fun experimenting with different vegetables. This cake also freezes well so sometimes I bake a few at a time and keep them on hand.”

We tested this cake with beets and loved the moist results.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups pureed roasted vegetables (about 3/4 pound raw vegetables)

3/4 cup warm strong coffee

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar or Chocolate Glaze, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together roasted vegetables, coffee, eggs, oil and vanilla. Whisk two mixtures together and pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake 45 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the side of the pan and a tester inserted in the center of the cake emerges with no crumbs. Cool on a wire rack 20 minutes in pan and then remove from pan. Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with Chocolate Glaze. Serves: 12

Per serving: 247 calories (percent of calories from fat, 22), 4 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 35 milligrams cholesterol, 309 milligrams sodium.

Linda Gable’s Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

In a small saucepan, bring cream and corn syrup to a simmer. Have chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour warm cream mixture over chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Stir until shiny and smooth. Allow to cool slightly before glazing cake. Makes: 2/3 cup

Per 1-tablespoon serving: 97 calories (percent of calories from fat, 83), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 9 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 6 milligrams sodium.